Information provided from drug database – record of requests – confidentiality – Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 4729.80

The state board of pharmacy is authorized to provide information from its drug database in accordance with the following:

• To a representative of a government entity responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline of health care professionals with authority to prescribe, administer, or dispense drugs, if the information relates to a professional who is the subject of an active investigation being conducted by the entity;
• To a federal officer, or a state or local officer of any state, whose duties include enforcing laws relating to drugs, if the information relates to the person who is the subject of an active investigation of a drug abuse offense being conducted by the officer’s employing government entity;
• To a grand jury, pursuant to a subpoena, if the information relates to the person who is the subject of an investigation being conducted by the grand jury;
• As is necessary to comply with a subpoena, search warrant or court order issued in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a possible or alleged criminal offense;
• To a board-registered prescriber or his agent, or a pharmacist, if the information relates to a current patient of the prescriber or pharmacist and the information is to be used for providing medical treatment to that patient or in the pharmacist’s practice of pharmacy involving the patient;
• To an individual seeking his own information;
• To a medical director of a managed care organization that has entered into a data security agreement with the board, if the information relates to a Medicaid recipient enrolled in the organization;
• To the director of job and family services, if the information relates to a recipient of a program administered by the department;
• To the administrator of worker’s compensation, if the information relates to a claimant; and
• To a requestor who is form or participating with another state’s prescription monitoring program, if there is a written agreement under which the information is to be used and disseminated according to Ohio law.

The board must maintain a record of each individual or entity that requests information from the database.  The board may use these records to document and report statistics and law enforcement outcomes.  Information contained in the database and any information obtained from it is not a public record.  Information contained in the records of requests for information is not a public record.  Information that does not identify a person may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.